Chapter 3: Preposterous

The young shop assistant’s mind buzzed. She stood there, completely stunned.

This medicine had been dug out from some dusty corner a few days ago while they were clearing old stock. Why hadn’t she checked the expiration date back then?

“Hey! Comrade! Wait a moment!”

Panic seized her. She rushed out from behind the counter, pushed through the curtain, and chased out onto the street.

But the street was packed with people coming and going, bicycles and pedestrians everywhere. Where could she still find any trace of Zhou Xing’er?

The shop assistant stood at the street corner, stomping her feet in anxiety, her palms slick with cold sweat.

“What am I supposed to do? Does expired birth control even work anymore? Could this… could this cost someone their life?” she muttered to herself, her face pale with fear. If that girl really got pregnant and came back to make trouble, her job would be gone for sure.

But the person was already gone, and there was nothing she could do. All she could do was pray in her heart that the pills still had some effect.

……

Zhou Xing’er rode a fellow villager’s ox cart, bouncing along the whole way, until she finally made it back to Zhou Family Village.

Following the path in her memories, she walked to a run-down mud-brick house at the east end of the village.

This was the original owner’s home.

The yard was fenced in with tree branches. A few chickens were kept inside, clucking away. The roof was thatched with wheat straw, and the mud plaster on the walls had peeled off in places, exposing the straw underneath.

Zhou Xing’er took a deep breath, pushed open the wooden gate, and walked in.

“Xing’er? Is that Xing’er coming back?”

An anxious woman’s voice called out from inside the house. Right after, a middle-aged woman in patched clothes with graying hair hurried out.

This was the original owner’s mother, Liu Guihua.

The moment Liu Guihua saw Zhou Xing’er, her eyes turned red. She ran over in a few steps, grabbed Zhou Xing’er’s hand, and started wiping away tears in her panic.

“You stupid girl, where did you run off to last night? You scared your mother half to death! Your Eldest Brother and Second Brother searched outside for you half the night, nearly broke their legs running!” Liu Guihua scolded as she carefully looked Zhou Xing’er up and down. Seeing no injuries on her, she finally let out a breath of relief.

Hearing the commotion, the rest of the family came rushing out too.

The original owner’s father, Old Man Zhou, was an honest, simple farmer. He squatted on the threshold. He didn’t say anything when he saw his daughter return, but the worry in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.

Eldest Brother Zhou Dazhu and Second Brother Zhou Erzhu also ran out. The two men were tall and sturdy, their skin dark, faces covered in sweat.

“Little Sister, you’re finally back. Where did you go yesterday? If you hadn’t come back soon, we were going to report it to the police in town,” Zhou Dazhu asked in his deep, rumbling voice, full of concern.

Eldest Sister-in-law Li Xiulan walked out too, holding a six-month-old baby in her arms, nodding repeatedly. “That’s right, Little Sister. Mom was so worried last night she didn’t sleep a wink. She kept praying in front of the Buddha shrine.”

Looking at this whole family, Zhou Xing’er suddenly felt a pang in her heart.

In the original novel, the original owner was extremely vain and selfish. She despised her family for being poor, hated that her parents were farmers, thought her two brothers were useless. She wouldn’t even sweep the floor at home, and she constantly mocked her two sisters-in-law.

Later, after marrying into the Fu family, she cut off all contact with her maiden family, terrified they’d embarrass her.

But even after all the crap she pulled, when she divorced Fu Yusheng, got scammed out of all her money by street thugs, and had nowhere left to go, it was still this family that took her back in. They didn’t care that she was divorced. They didn’t care about her ruined reputation. They pinched pennies to feed her.

It was the original owner herself who couldn’t stand the village gossip, couldn’t handle the poverty again, stole money from the house once more, and ran away—only to end up dying miserably in a filthy city ditch.

This entire family were honest, kind, good people.

Zhou Xing’er looked at the little nephew in Li Xiulan’s arms. The kid was only six months old, chubby, his big dark eyes rolling around. When he spotted Zhou Xing’er, he blew a spit bubble and giggled.

Zhou Xing’er’s heart instantly melted into a puddle. This kid was too cute.

“Mom, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I’m sorry for making you worry.” Zhou Xing’er looked at her family and apologized sincerely. “I went to town yesterday to hang out with a friend. It got too dark and there were no rides back, so I stayed the night at my classmate’s place. I… I forgot to tell the family. It won’t happen again.”

Hearing her apologize, Old Man Zhou exhaled a puff of smoke, tapped his pipe against his shoe sole, and said gruffly, “As long as you’re back. From now on, tell the family where you’re going. You’re a girl. It’s not safe out there alone.”

“Yeah, listen to your dad. As long as you’re back.” Liu Guihua pulled Zhou Xing’er toward the house. “Hungry? Mom kept breakfast warm for you. Rice porridge, and I boiled you an egg too.”

In this era, rice and eggs were luxuries. Normally the two brothers wouldn’t dare eat them, saving everything for the original owner and the pregnant sister-in-law.

Zhou Erzhu grinned wide. “Little Sister, as long as you’re fine. Big Brother and I are heading to the fields. We gotta finish weeding the plot on the east side today. I’ll pick you a sweet melon when I get back tonight.”

“Okay. Thanks, Second Brother. Thanks, Eldest Brother.” Zhou Xing’er smiled sweetly.

The two brothers stared at her smiling face, a bit dazed. Normally their little sister always wore a long face around them, unwilling to say a single word. Why was she so gentle today, even saying thank you?

Still, their little sister was growing up. As her brothers, they were happy.

“Come on, Dazhu, let’s get to work!” Zhou Erzhu dragged Zhou Dazhu and happily headed out.

Eldest Sister-in-law carried the baby into the kitchen, smiling. “Little Sister, go wash your face first. I’ll ladle out the porridge for you.”

Zhou Xing’er watched her sister-in-law’s busy back, then looked around the shabby but spotlessly clean house.

They might be poor now, but this was the nineties. As long as you had guts and weren’t afraid of hard work, you could definitely make money.

She, Zhou Xing’er, was at least a college student in the modern world. She wasn’t some business genius, but she knew more or less which way the future was heading.

Since she’d taken over the original owner’s body and received this family’s love, she had to help them escape poverty. She was going to bring her parents, her brothers, her sisters-in-law, and that adorable little nephew into a good life together.

Zhou Xing’er walked to the kitchen door and looked at Xiao Tiedan in Li Xiulan’s arms.

Xiao Tiedan reached out a chubby little hand toward her, babbling away.

The little guy was only six months old, fair-skinned and plump.

When he noticed Zhou Xing’er looking at him, those big dark eyes rolled around. He blew a glistening spit bubble, then burst into giggles.

Zhou Xing’er couldn’t help walking over and gently poking Xiao Tiedan’s warm little hand with her finger.

Xiao Tiedan had quite a grip. He immediately grabbed her finger, babbling, his little legs kicking away in Li Xiulan’s arms. He was incredibly lovable.

Looking at Xiao Tiedan’s chubby little face, Zhou Xing’er felt warmth spread through her chest.

She gently slipped her finger out of his palm, smiled at Li Xiulan, and said, “Sister-in-law, Xiao Tiedan is growing so well. Just looking at him makes you love him. I’m all sweaty and dirty. Let me go back to my room to wash my face and change into something clean.”

Li Xiulan held the baby, her eyes crinkling into slits as she smiled, nodding repeatedly. “Go on, you must be exhausted from walking all the way back. There’s fresh cold water in the vat, and a clean towel in your room. Go wash up and get comfortable. When you’re done, come out and have your porridge. I’ll scoop you a thick bowl.”

“Okay, thanks, Sister-in-law.” Zhou Xing’er answered sweetly and turned toward her small room.

The original owner’s room was tiny. Inside, there was only a narrow wooden bed, an old cabinet with peeling paint, and a broken wooden desk for writing and reading. Simple, but kept fairly clean.

Zhou Xing’er shut the door and slid the bolt firmly into place.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling sore all over.

That man Fu Yusheng had been way too rough last night. Her frail little body simply couldn’t take it.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Enter the space.”